"Part of being optimistic is keeping one's head pointed toward the sun, one's feet moving forward."A facebook friend recommended to me a workout fitness tracking bracelet called fit-bit. I received mine for Christmas and LOVE it!! I think the quote above should be their slogan, or at least I made it mine while I am working out. I wear the bracelet the entire day and each evening hook it up to my computer and with a click of a few buttons I can see my entire fit lifestyle report. I always thought I worked out as hard as I could until I saw my endurance levels were only moderate. The same was true with what I felt was healthy eating. The report includes, fats, proteins, etc. and when I saw my sodium totals I nearly fainted. It was time to change the routine and these feet needed to work a lot harder!Change is a certainty in life that is inevitable. In the past I hated anything related to change and felt happy and safe with my feet planted just where they were. For me trying to fight the changes in life did nothing but cause sadness and frustration. Nothing stays the same so stop trying to avoid it is what I finally told myself. It took a lot of days, work and steps but once I let the past go it opened doors for peace.The first days wearing my bracelet was just as difficult as removing the fear of change in the past. I worked out so hard and felt so exhausted and finally checked the report to see I only walked 6,000 steps. I was so ANGRY!!!!! Each day I worked a little harder and slowly began seeing the happy faces on the chart as my steps and endurance increased. Last week I hit 15,000 steps and I never left the house. I accomplished it simply by walking the steps, vacuuming, even cleaning the bathroom counted. The report sends congratulation emails and lights go off when I have reached certain goals. It pats me on the back for work well done with the reminder your feet are not done. Get to the next level.Changes in life are out of our control. The journey our feet have to walk is not always an easy one and no one knows the path of others journeys or future roads. There are roadblocks and detours and we are not always going to like some of the reports we receive. When I was younger I had time to put off what I was reading and dreamt of life 20 years from now. I now don't have the time to dream and it is time to take what I am seeing in front of me more seriously. I have seen a lot of sorrow and joy and learned through both the endings of chapters are not always pleasant. Now that my parents are both gone I am most likely the next generation to leave. I can cry over this or I can embrace each day of the rest of my journey. It is time for me to no longer sacrifice for others but get my feet moving in the direction of security for my elder years and my goal is doing it in the healthiest and happiest way I can each day.To quote Albert Einstein, "Life is like riding a bicycle, to keep balanced you must keep moving". I do not fear the next 20 years as I know my feet will go in the direction they are supposed to. Thanks to my fit-bit bracelet each day I work harder at achieving a balanced life. The first month of 2014 is almost done which is another reminder to me that time flies by. I must keep my feet moving in a positive path.I sometimes feel like I have been dancing through life which can be a good thing. What I feel needs to change is the type of dancing I am doing. I think I am going to retire the dizziness of the polka as I miss out on so much of life while spinning around. I think I will try something fun but slower like the tango. Whatever the dance, whatever the road, each day is another chapter to my book. I remain optimistic facing the sun with my fit-bit on my wrist and my feet moving forward. I will not lie, every once in a while I do put my feet up and rest as the fit-bit battery needs recharging to work properly. But once it is recharged I get the chance to once again sit it out or dance. I am going to do my best to keep these feet DANCING!!!!!. Let's all keep our feet tapping through February coming right around the corner!!!

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My name is Donna Ryan and I have always thrived on inspiration. I love reading it everywhere I can find it. I am 58 and it has been a journey with many twists and turns. I invite all 50+ women to join me in discussions on this second chapter. Our road ahead is fun and exciting because these truly are the best days of our lives.